Exercise
For students and teachers, this suggested exercise encourages further reflection and thought on the topics discussed in the pages in this section of the Web of Healing.
Cultural Exchange
Consider the argument that, “white people, who kept most of the records historians must rely on, simply failed to realize how much black thoughts and values changed their own way of doing things and looking at the world” (Wright, p. 115).
Read Benjamin Rush’s testimony on behalf of James Derham as well as Derham’s letters to Rush. What do these letters reveal about the exchange of knowledge about medicine and healing between blacks and whites in that era?
In addition to looking at the relevant secondary source literature, to broaden your discussion to include interpretation of the more subtle implications of interactions between non-elite African Americans and European Americans, you may want to use the National Park Service’s website on the African-American experience in Louisiana.
Write a 1,000-1,500 word essay using these resources that critically evaluates the “two-way” relationship between black and white exchanges of medical knowledge in the 18th century.